It's Not Easy to Return
by brightsilverkitty
Summary: After a disappointing experience in Scotland, Buffy, Willow and Dawn return to California to stay in the Hyperion. Crossover with Angel
1. Chapter 1

Pairings: Angel/Buffy

More to come

Takes place in season 5 of Angel with some slight differences. Spike is Corporeal, Cordelia is alive and Connor never happened.

I do not own Buffy or Angel.

The inside of the car was stuffy, too stuffy. Very slowly Dawn reached down and pushed the window button.

"Roll it back up Dawn." A grouchy voice came from the passenger seat.

"I can't breathe! And besides, you told me I could open it once we got to California. Newsflash, we've been in California for, like, 2 hours!" Dawn threw herself back against her seat and glared at her sister.

"Once you're the Slayer, you can make the decisions about what happens in the car."

"Actually, it's the driver who makes the decisions. Willow?"

Willow reached over and twisted on the air conditioning. "Problem solved." She said with the no-nonsense voice of a mother whose two whiny kids have been bickering since they reached the east coast. Road trips were not fun when siblings were involved.

"Thanks." Dawn picked up the Nintendo DS that had been her constant companion since they stopped at a Best Buy in Tennessee.

"Buffy, it's not Dawn's fault that things didn't work out in Scotland. Maybe you could go easy on her."

Buffy sighed heavily and glared out the window. "I know."

Willow was silent for a moment, waiting for Buffy to talk to her.

"He works for the bad guys Will."

Willow stared at the road, _Not this again_. "It's Angel. I'm sure he had a reason. Maybe Wolfram and Hart isn't as bad as it sounds."

"I hope it is." Piped Dawn from the back seat. "It would be so much more interesting than working for the Council." All three of them shuddered as they remembered how dull the few remaining council members had been.

"Anyway, It's not like we have to live with them." Willow concentrated on driving for a moment as she took an exit, "Faith said we're staying with her at the Hotel, right?"

"Right." Came the reply from the passenger seat.

"See, you can't complain about that. We won't even be sleeping in the same building as Angel. And we'll be working with Faith during the day. He'll be working with the big bads during the day. You guys will never see each other. Oh crap! My Squirtle lost all his HP." Dawn retreated back into her DS world, leaving Willow to try looking questioningly at Buffy. But the Slayer was too busy moping and looking out the window.

_I hope she snaps out of this_. Willow thought. Buffy had been acting like this since the Council decided that having the old Slayer mix with the new ones was a bad idea. And when they found out that the one who taught Meditation to the girls had once tried to destroy the world they were less than thrilled.

The only one they liked was Dawn, and that was because she had loved the few hours a day she spent studying ancient demonic languages with them. If it weren't for the fact that the only two people she considered her family were being forced to leave she would probably have been selected for the watcher-in-training program.

Now, instead of learning the arts of being a Watcher she was stuck in a car heading towards her sisters ex-boyfriends home.

A couple hours later the trio pulled into the Hyperion's scenic driveway. In a second Dawn was out of the car and rushing to hug Faith. The two had become close during Faith's stay in Scotland.

"Hey there kiddo!" Faith wrapped an arm around Dawn, and then moved on to pull a very surprised Willow into a hug too. "Nice to see you Red." She said, before turning to Buffy.

"I'd hug you B, but the expression in your face tells me you wouldn't like that very much."

"I'm not in a hugging mood." Buffy said before grabbing her luggage and Willow's and stomping up the steps. "You said we could pick any room?" She called from the doorstep.

"Uh, yeah-" Faith called back, "They're all open, just stay out of-" Buffy disappeared into the Hotel. "My room." Faith finished flatly. "What's wrong with B. We've never been close, but she's never been this-"

"Bitchy?" Dawn finished.

"That works." Faith laughed as she looked expectantly at Willow.

The witch looked uncomfortable. "Don't blame Buffy too much. The whole thing with the council, then the plane ride, and now she has to deal with Angel on top of it."

Faith chuckled to herself, "Glad to know it's not just me."

As Willow and Dawn moved to follow Faith inside a car pulled into the driveway.

"Who's that?" Asked Willow.

Faith sighed. "It's Angel."

Behind her Dawn began laughing. "Buffy is gonna love this."


	2. Chapter 2

Dawn and Willow stood in front of the Hyperion, looking anxiously at the black car in front of them. One of the back doors opened, and a very tired looking Wesley stepped out.

"That was anticlimactic." Dawn said, "Where's Angel?" She shouted from the steps.

"Hush Dawn." Willow said softly, noting Wesley's exhaustion.

"You ok Wes?" Faith asked, jumping down to offer her hand, "You don't look so good."

"I'm fine." Wesley said in a weary tone, "I've just been working all day on a way to defeat the Hexclar demon clan. A very vicious breed." He looked up at the group that stared at him. "A cup of tea and a place to sit would be good." He suggested, and the three women quickly jumped into action. Soon Wesley was settled in the main room of the hotel with a cup of tea and some interested faces waiting for him to speak.

"This is very lovely Faith." He complemented, "what is it?"

Faith shrugged, "Lipton."

"Ah." Wesley set down the cup.

"So, why isn't Angel here?" Dawn asked, earning a foot kick from Willow.

"Angel had a prior commitment that he couldn't get away from. He sends his regards though." He added quickly as Dawn's face fell.

The conversation soon turned to the situation in Los Angeles, Willow interrogated Wesley about every aspect of Wolfram and Hart that she could think of, while Dawn switched on her DS and Faith pretended to listen.

After about an hour of Willow's never-ending questions Faith decided to intervene.

"Come on Red, Wes looks like he's about to keel over. Lets let him go home."

"That sounds like a good idea," Wesley said, "however, I was hoping to see Buffy before I left."

"I'm right here." Buffy said from the staircase. She made her way over to where the others sat and crossed her arms over her chest. "Angel sent you?"

The Wesley Buffy knew would have become flustered under the direct, unwelcoming look she was giving him. Instead, he stood up and crossed his own arms. "Yes, Angel sent me to make sure the three of you found your way safely, and to let you know that if you find your accommodations lacking in any all you need is to tell us and we will fix it."

Buffy blinked at him. "We? As in bad-guy lawyers."

Faith opened her mouth, but Wesley cut in before she could get her words out. "Wolfram and Hart has done wonders since Angel has taken over. It is not the same anymore. Neither are the people who work for it."

He leaned down and picked up the teacup, downing the rest of the contents in one gulp. "If you need anything, let us know." He said, then made his way through the exit.

"We should all get some sleep." Buffy said, taking over her role as team leader. "Pick a room, any room except Faith's which is-?" She gave a pointed look at Faith.

"Uh, 220" Faith said.

"Ok, any room except for 220, or 312, where I'll be sleeping."

Faith opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, then shut it, a small smirk spreading over her face.

"Is there a problem?" Buffy snapped.

The others quickly grabbed their bags and made their way upstairs to begin the hunt.

"Not at all B." said Faith as she turned and made her way up the stairs. "Not at all."

.


End file.
